Pan-flying is a popular method of cooking many types of foods such as, but not limited to, sausage, bacon, hamburgers, pork chops, eggs, sandwiches, vegetables, etc. However, this cooking method often leaves excess oil, fat or grease on the food. This excess oil, fat and grease can cause the food to be less healthy and may also affect the taste of the food. It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide means for draining excess oil, grease and fat from pan-fried foods.
Spatulas are often used in pan-frying to turn the food and remove the food from the pan. A majority of spatulas are made up of a metal or plastic flat spatula surface on an extended arm or bar with a handle and are only designed to lift foods from the frying pan surface. Most spatulas are designed with cut out grooves or slots in the spatula surface for allowing excess oil, fat or grease to drain from the fried foods. However, at best, only a minimal amount of oil, fat or grease drains naturally from the food without applying any pressure. After removing fried food from a pan, many people place the food on a plate topped with paper towels, paper sacks or napkins to help absorb some of the excess oil, fat or grease from the fried food. However, this method only absorbs oil, fat or grease from one side of the fried food unless the fried food is manually turned to absorb the oil, fat or grease from the opposite side. Furthermore, unless pressure is applied to the food, only the surface oil, fat or grease from the fried food is absorbed. Some people apply pressure to the food with a paper towel, paper sack or napkin by using their hands or fingers to help drain additional oil, fat or grease. However, this method can result in burns to the hand or fingers from the hot oil, fat or grease and can leave paper residue on the food.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved techniques for providing means for draining excess oil, fat or grease from fried foods that protects a user's hands from burns and removes more than just the surface oil, fat or grease.
Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.